sport news Ngidi hails the return of the fab four as South Africa vow to throw the first ... trends now
There was a phase of play in the second Test when Ben Stokes and Ben Foakes had settled in with England on top where Lungi Ngidi turned to his white-ball expertise to try to shift the tide, delivering slower balls and dipping yorkers despite possessing 90mph+ pace.
It was a measure of the skillset the 26-year-old has developed and of the changing nature of the longest format of the game.
‘It boils down to having that freedom to make that decision,’ says Ngidi. ‘I’ve got these skills I can use so why not? Once Stokes was moving the game forward, I had to use those skills to slow down the game or create an opportunity for us. A couple of the yorkers, the guys were late on them and people may think this isn’t Test cricket but the game is constantly advancing.
Fast bowler Lungi Ngidi insists South Africa are ready for the Test decider against England
‘The biggest thing is to play with the freedom of mind. That’s the way world cricket is going. You look at England and there’s that level of freedom where players are encouraged to express themselves.’
From Manchester to London via a midweek retreat, South Africa have been recharging their batteries after England fought back to level the series at Old Trafford. Ngidi insists the tourists are ready for the decider.
‘The time away helped. It’s been a long tour but the focus is back, especially after the week we’ve had away from cricket,’ he says.
‘Sometimes that’s all it takes. And the guys are really excited because there’s something pretty big on the line. Winning against England in England. Not many teams can say that.’
Ngidi, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje and Marco Jansen are expected to play at the Oval
Dean Elgar’s men have the chance to follow in the footsteps of Graeme Smith’s sides of 2008 and 2012. Captain Elgar’s decision to replace a seamer for an extra spinner at Old Trafford was costly after the way their four-pronged pace attack had ripped England apart at Lord’s.
And the tourists are expected to return to the quartet of Ngidi, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje and Marco Jansen at the Oval.
‘Everyone
